Apparatus, system, method and computer program product for service selection and sorting

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, system, method and computer program product for providing a user of a terminal with broadcast services. A terminal controller is configured to use data forming the whole of or part of an electronic service guide, and store information concerning the accessibility of services. That information is used to then generate a list of selectable services available to the user. A user interface presents at least part of the list in a selectable manner. Service accessibility display options are included either as a setting in the terminal or as a user input. Subscribed services are presented to the user on a display differently than non-subscribed services. If a non-subscribed service is selected, payment data is retrieved from the terminal and a suitable subscription is purchased without significant user involvement. The purchase of a subscription results in the terminal receiving subscription data, which is then stored for future use.

RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No.60/517,111 entitled, “SERVICE SELECTION AND SORTING” filed on Nov. 5,2003, as well as foreign priority from GB application No. 0325041.2filed on Oct. 27, 2003, GB application No. 0325846.4 filed on Nov. 5,2003, and GB application No. 0325962.9 filed on Nov. 6, 2003, which areall incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a terminal with a user interface usedfor receiving broadcast services, wherein the terminal receives thebroadcast services and the user interface presents the broadcastservices in a selectable manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One well-known digital mobile radio system is the Global System ForMobile Communication (GSM). In cellular radio networks like the GSM, aHome Location Register (HLR) stores location and subscriber data formobile radios registered in the network. When a person subscribes toreceive a service from a cellular network operator, the subscription isentered into the HLR of that operator. The location information ofmoving mobile communications units is periodically updated in the HLR.In addition to the HLR, Visiting Location Registers (VLRs) temporarilystore and retrieve location and subscription information for visitingmobile subscribers. Various information (sometimes in considerableamounts) is passed between the HLR and the VLRs, e.g., subscriber'sservice subscriptions when mobile subscribers are roaming either in ahome network or in a visited network.

It is expected that subscription services commonly found with existingsatellite and cable television providers will be used with digitalbroadcasts such as Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Advanced TelevisionSystems Committee (ATSC) or Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting(ISDB). However, such subscription services can be fairly complicated tomanage. For example, a basic package of channels (as they are called inconventional television services) or services (as they are called inDVB-T) could be without charge, or could be included in a basicsubscription. That basic package could also be supplemented withadditional services, either singularly or in bundles of services thatcan be purchased on a pay-per-view basis.

To add to the complication of the subscriptions services, subscriptionstypically have a definite duration, or a fixed end time. Therefore, toprevent non-subscribers from receiving a subscription service, it iscommon to encrypt the services. Subscribers are provided with a key orkeys that allow them to decrypt the service for consumption. To allowsubscriptions to have a limited duration, the keys are changed atsuitable intervals

Additionally, when new services or new subscribers are introduced into amobile communications system, those new services and/or subscribers aredefined in the HLR, and thereafter, the HLR must update the VLRs withthe new service and/or subscriber information. Typically, new servicesare added to the HLR and updated in VLRs. Other types of registers maybe used for managing and administrating subscribers. However, thesubscriber identification modules (SIMs) used by some mobile devices aretypically different for all the operators.

Because all mobile devices agree to get services through an operator,i.e. they are registered users of the operator network/service, there isa need to provide a variety of services to mobile device users. There isa further need to provide the same kind of services offered byoperators, but independent of operators. Therefore, it is necessary toprovide the users of mobile devices easy and efficient access to contentthat is broadcast in a network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment, there is provided a terminal for receivingbroadcast services. The terminal includes a controller configured to usedata forming the whole of or part of an electronic service guide, andstore information concerning the accessibility of services. Thatinformation is used to then generate a list of selectable servicesavailable to the user. A user interface presents at least part of thelist in a selectable manner. It is contemplated that the controller isoperable to generate the list of individual selectable services and/orto generate a list of selectable bundles, wherein each bundle includestwo or more services.

The user interface is controllable in response to a setting or input topresent services along with corresponding access information. To providea convenient user interface, the controller can be operable via asetting or a user input to generate a list of services that arecurrently accessible. Alternatively, the controller can be operable viaa setting or a user input to present services that are currentlyaccessible differently than those that are not currently accessible. Forexample, accessible services may be shown with a different colorforeground or background, “greyed-out,” in a different font, or withdifferent icons.

Advantageously, the controller is responsive to a user input forselecting an inaccessible service by commencing a service purchaseprocedure, which can be carried out in an easy and efficient manner. Forincreased convenience, the controller can be configured to determinewhich service bundles include the selected inaccessible service, and theuser interface can be configured to present those service bundles in aselectable manner.

To avoid a user from having to input payment data every time that aservice or bundle is purchased, the controller is preferably configuredto implement a service purchase procedure by sending pre-existingpayment data, maintained locally in the terminal, via a communicationslink. It is contemplated that the terminal includes a receiver operableto receive service purchase information over a bidirectionalcommunications link. The received service purchase information caninclude one or more time-slicing parameters and/or data required toaccess the respective service or services. The access data can includeschedules, keys or other such data that the terminal uses to receive thecorresponding service, services or bundle of services. Additionally, thereceived service purchase information preferably includes one or moredecryption keys, that allows the service(s) to be accessed easily. Theterminal can be configured to update the locally stored informationconcerning the accessibility of services with the received servicepurchase information, or at least part of the received information.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of operatinga terminal for receiving broadcast services. The method includesreceiving data forming the whole of or part of an electronic serviceguide and locally maintaining information concerning the accessibilityof services. The electronic service guide data and the accessibilitydata are then used to generate a list of selectable services. At leastpart of the list is then presented in a selectable manner.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a user interface forpresenting broadcast services. The user interface includes a listgenerator configured to use data forming the whole of or part of anelectronic service guide and information concerning the accessibility ofservices. That data and information is then used to generate a list ofselectable services. The user interface also includes a means configuredto present at least part of the list in a selectable manner.

According to another embodiment, a datacast operator sends a broadcastto take into account all mobile phone users independently from theoperator from which they are served. It is contemplated thatsubstantially all bundles for sale are introduced to every operator'ssales channel. It is also contemplated that the electronic service guideincludes a purchase channel and there is a link between the purchasechannel and a bundle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical,functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The presentinvention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary mobile communicationsystem including a broadcast network and a public land mobiletelecommunications network (PLMN) according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of exemplary circuits for a mobiletelephone handset configured to receive broadcast transmissionsaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 a schematic diagram of an exemplary battery pack for mobiletelephone handset illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed schematic diagram of an exemplary broadcastnetwork that includes an e-commerce system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed schematic diagram of the e-commerce systemillustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed schematic diagram of an exemplary PLMN inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary network forreceiving broadcast services in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of how servicecomponents are transmitted on a channel using time-slicing and presentedto a user in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of thedifferent services offered by a content provider in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a table that illustrates in more detail an example of theservices available to a user using a broadcast network in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a table that illustrates in more detail an example of theservices available to a user using a broadcast network in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating in more detail an exemplarynetwork for receiving broadcast services in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 13 is schematic diagram illustrating in more detail an exemplarymethod of how service components are transmitted on a channel usingtime-slicing in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 14A is a schematic diagram of one exemplary hierarchy for servicecomponents in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 14B is a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of thepartial content of one service in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components of a mobile terminal in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the terminal inFIG. 15 performs ESG discovery in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the terminal inFIG. 15 provides browsable ESG implemented via a user interface inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the mobileterminal in FIG. 15 operates when a non-subscribed service is selectedby a user in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary mobile communicationsystem including a broadcast network and a public land mobiletelecommunications network (PLMN) according to an embodiment. FIG. 1illustrates a communication system 1 in which mobile user equipment inthe form of mobile telephone handsets UE₁, UE₂ are configured to receivetransmissions from a broadcast network, such as DVB-T type network 2 oran enhancement of that type of network, and also to communicate througha public land mobile network (PLMN) 3. The DVB-T type network 2transmits content such as audiovisual content, data files or images tothe handsets UE₁, UE₂. The content is obtained from data stream servers4 ₁, 4 ₂ through Internet protocol (IP) so that the network can providean IP data casting (IPDC) service using the DVB-T type network 2. Twosuch servers 4 ₁, 4 ₂ are shown by way of example although in practicethere may be many more. The DVB-T type network 2 is cellular andantennas 5 ₁, 5 ₂ and 5 ₃ serve individual cells of the network atgeographically spaced sites.

The PLMN 3 may comprise any suitable mobile telephone network, such as 2G, 2.5 G or 3 G network, with antennas 6 ₁ and 6 ₂ that serve individualcells of the PLMN. A communication channel 7 may be provided between theDVB-T type network 2 and the PLMN 3 to allow bi-directionalcommunication between the networks 2, 3, e.g. for the interchange ofservice information.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of exemplary circuits for a mobiletelephone handset configured to receive broadcast transmissionsaccording to an embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates thecircuits for the mobile handset UE₁ by way of a simplified example.Handset UE₂ is of a substantially similar configuration. The handset UE₁includes first and second antennas 8 ₁, 8 ₂, a receiver 9 ₁ and atransceiver 9 ₂. The first antenna 8 ₁ and receiver 9 ₁ are configuredto receive signals from the DVB-T type network 2. The second antenna 8 ₂and transceiver 9 ₂ are used to transmit and receive signals to and fromthe PLMN 3. The receiver and transceiver 9 ₁, 9 ₂ each includerespective RF signal processing circuits (not shown) for amplifying anddemodulating received signals and respective processors (not shown) forchannel de-coding and de-multiplexing.

The handset UE₁ also includes a controller 10, a user interface 11,memory 12, a smart card reader 13, smart card 14 received in the smartcard reader 13, a coder/decoder (codec) 15, a speaker 16 withcorresponding amplifier 17 and microphone 18 with correspondingpreamplifier 19. The user interface 11 comprises a display 20 and keypad21. The display 20 is configured to display images and video by, forexample, being larger and/or having greater resolution than the displayof many conventional mobile telephone handsets and being capable ofdisplaying color images. The device also includes a rechargeable battery22. The controller 10 manages operation of the handset under thedirection of computer software stored in memory 12. For example, thecontroller 10 provides an output for the display 20 and receives inputsfrom the keypad 21.

FIG. 3 a schematic diagram of an exemplary battery pack for the mobiletelephone handset illustrated in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3, thebattery 22, the first antenna 8 ₁ and the receiver 9 ₁ may beincorporated into a battery pack 23. A conventional mobile telephonehandset may be configured to receive data via the DVB-T type network 2by replacing a conventional battery pack (not shown) with battery pack23, which includes the receiver 9 ₁ and providing software for enablingcommunication between interfaces in the battery pack 23 and handset.Alternatively, the first antenna 8 ₁ and the receiver 9 ₁ may beincorporated into a cover (not shown) for a conventional mobiletelephone handset so that by replacing the cover and necessary softwarefor the handset, the conventional handset can be upgraded or modified toreceive transmissions from the DVB-T type network 2.

The handset UE₁ can receive DVB-T type transmissions through receiver 9₁ from the DVB-T type network 2. The received signal is amplified,demodulated, channel de-coded and demultiplexed. The resultingdemultiplexed signal (not shown) is filtered so as to extract bursts ofdatagrams. Datagram bursts are fed into a time-slice buffer which isprovided by the controller 10 and memory 12 so as to produce a stream ofdatagrams which are not time-sliced. In one embodiment of invention, thedatagram stream is substantially continuous and/or transmitted at asubstantially constant rate. The resulting data stream is then displayedon display 20 with respect to video and other visually displayablesignals. Audio signals are passed through codec 15 and amplifier 17 tospeaker 16.

The transceiver 9 ₂ is for use with PLMN 3 and uses a conventionalmobile telecommunications protocol to achieve bidirectional voice anddata communication under the control of controller 10, with displaysbeing provided on display 20 and audio being handled by means of speaker16 and microphone 18. While the device UE₁ has been described in termsof a mobile telephone handset, it may also includes a personal digitalassistant PDA or other mobile terminal capable of at least receivingsignals from the DVB-T type network 2. An example of such a device isthe Nokia 7700 phone as described at http://www.nokia.com. The deviceUE₁ may also be semi-fixed or semi-portable such as terminal in avehicle.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed schematic diagram of an exemplary broadcastnetwork that includes an e-commerce system according to an embodiment.FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary DVB-T type network 2. The stream servers4 ₁, 4 ₂ supply content in the form of IP datagrams to an InternetProtocol Datacast (IPDC) sender 24. The IPDC sender 24 includes a mainprocessor 25, which receives IP datagrams from the data stream contentservers 4 ₁, 4 ₂. The main processor 25 runs a number of processesassociated with multi-protocol encapsulation of the IP data.

IP encapsulation process 26, run by the processor 25, embeds the IPpackets into multi-protocol encapsulation (MPE) sections that areincorporated into MPEG-2 transport stream (TS) packets. For furtherdetails, reference is directed to ETSI EN 301 192 V1.3.1 (2003-01)“Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) DVB specification for databroadcasting” Section 7. Briefly, the IP packets belonging to the samestream, possibly from several IP sessions, are configured for inclusionin the TS stream as an elementary stream (ES). That is achieved byplacing the IP datagrams in MPE sections and placing the sections intopackets of the TS for broadcast by transmitter 27, through antenna 5 ₁.

The main processor 25 also performs time-slicing, which is used toreduce the time that the receiver 9 ₁ needs to be switched on to receivedata thereby saving its battery power. The main processor 25 carries outa time-slicing process 28 in which the MPE sections are configured intime spaced bursts in the TS together with time-slicing informationwhich indicates when the receiver should be switched off and when toturn it on again, in order to receive the service while minimizing powerconsumption in the receiver circuitry.

Also, a forward error correction (FEC) process 29 may be carried out inorder to create packets of data containing forward error correctioncodes (FECs) to be incorporated into the TS. The advantage ofimplementing FEC in the IPDC transmissions from IPDC sender 24 lies inthe fact that the transmission over the air is particularly error-prone,when compared to transmission in wired networks. There are two mainreasons for that. Firstly, signal-to-noise ratios in radio transmissionare not as good as in wire-based transmission media and can haveconsiderable fluctuations. Furthermore, due to the unidirectional natureof the DVB-T type network 2, it is not possible to use protocols, suchas the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), that request re-transmissionof lost packets.

The main processor 25 also performs security function processes 30 toallow IP encryption and authentication codes to be processed, such asIPSec according to Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 2401. Suchcodes can be used to check the integrity of IP datagrams received fromthe stream servers 4 ₁, 4 ₂. The codes are included in the encapsulateddata in the TS as part of a security key scheme that enables onlyauthorized UEs to receive the broadcast data successfully. The mainprocessor 25 also controls a data carousel 31, which controlstransmission of rights objects to UEs, as will be described later. Ane-commerce system 32, hereafter referred to as an ECS, is provided forhandling registrations and subscriptions to a service associated withthe content.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed schematic diagram of the e-commerce systemillustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, the ECS 32 includes a processor 33, aservice management module 34, a service database 35, a user database 36,a scheduler 37, a content storage module 38, a rights object (RO)generation module 39, a Charging Detail Record (CDR) database 40,together with billing interfaces 41, 42 and an access interface 43. TheECS 32 is configured to communicate via the PLMN 3, for example, inorder to receive subscription or registration requests from the UEs viaan interaction channel, or to forward billing and/or payment informationto an operator of the PLMN 3.

In one embodiment, the ECS 32 can receive requests for content and sendresponse messages through the PLMN 3 via a Short Message Service (SMS)gateway 44. A Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Gateway 45 is alsoprovided in one embodiment to allow data to be sent from the ECS 32 to aUE, via the PLMN 3. A gateway 46 for handling e-mail communications maybe provided. The processor 33 may, in one embodiment, be configured tosend and receive HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) data, in which casethe access interface 43 converts incoming data into HTTP and outgoingdata into a suitable format for transmission as an e-mail, a SMS messageand/or using WAP or another wireless protocol.

In one embodiment, the ECS 32 is configured to receive electronicservice guide (ESG) data from an external ESG server 47. The ECS 32 mayreceive ESG data from one or more network operators or serviceproviders, wherein the respective sources of the different ESGs can beidentified. The ESG may comprise a list of available services,identifiers used for denoting the services, pricing information and atransmission schedule relating to those services, including informationidentifying the channel on which the services are to be provided. In oneembodiment, part or all of the ESG, or media guide, are sent atpredefined intervals.

The ESG is generated and updated periodically and may includeinformation on the last update, modification date/time and/orinformation on its validity period, such as an indication of when theESG is due to be updated. When an ESG is generated or updated, it isbroadcast over the DVB-T type network 2 and also sent to the ECS 32. Theservice management module 34 then extracts information relating to theservices, such as the service identifier and pricing information, andstores these in a service database 35.

The user database 36 stores information relating to subscriptions toservices from the handsets UE₁, UE₂. Typically, the information willinclude a UE identifier for uniquely identifying a handset UE₁, UE₂,such as an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or MobileSubscriber Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) number, togetherwith the service identifier, information relating to the price paid by auser of the handset UE₁, UE₂ for that service and the time and date atwhich the subscription is to start and end. The user database 36 mayalso include other types of information, such as fingerprints, otherbiometric identification and/or user images for identifying the user inaddition to, or instead of, the UE identifier.

In one embodiment, the ECS 32 may also receive data from an externalDigital Rights Management (DRM) server 48. The DRM server 48 isconfigured to generate rights objects (ROs) for use in encrypting thecontent and/or restricting the use of that content when received at ahandset UE₁, UE₂. For example, a RO associated with particular contentmay be defined so that a user of the handset UE₁ can view the content alimited number of times or during a limited period. A RO may alsoprevent forwarding of the received content to another handset UE₂.

The processor 33 generates billing information in the form of a CDR.Where a handset UE₁, UE₂ is operated under a postpaid subscriptionagreement, the CDR is sent via interface 42 for storage in the CDRdatabase 40. The CDRs saved in the CDR database 40 can then be forwardedto a Home Location Register (HLR) of the PLMN 3. Where a handset UE₁,UE₂ is operated under a prepaid billing arrangement, the billinginformation is dealt with using a different mechanism. In that case, theprocessor 33 may send CDRs via interface 41 for storage in a separatedatabase, not shown, where the data is compared against credit unitsavailable in that account.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed schematic diagram of an exemplary PLMN inaccordance with an embodiment. In FIG. 6, the PLMN 3 includes aMultimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC) 50 and a Short MessageService Center (SMSC) 44, for handling MMS and SMS messages sent by, ordirected to, the handsets UE₁, UE₂, along with a Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) gateway 45. HLR 51 administrates and manages a databaseof information relating to the PLMN 3, subscribers and devices UE₁, UE₂connected to the PLMN 3 and subscribers to the PLMN 3. The MMSC 50, SMSC44, WAP gateway 45 and HLR 51 can communicate with the ECS 32 throughthe communication link 7.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary network forreceiving broadcast services in accordance with an embodiment. In FIG.7, it is contemplated that the mobile terminal UE₁ is provided withmeans for receiving broadband transmissions such as e.g. DVB-T, ATSC,ISDB. Those broadband transmissions may include a time-sliced datacasttransmissions. The service provider or operator 70 provides a user withservices via a data broadcast burst 71, which may include a bundle ofservice sets. One time-sliced burst may include one or more data packetsand one data packet in the burst may comprise a service or a partthereof. Broadcast services or service sets may be sent to the terminalby using another communications network 75 e.g. a mobile phone networkespecially if the terminal UE₁ is provided with access to such anetwork. To that end, the terminal includes the necessary means forcommunicating via the second network. Additionally, communications fromthe terminal can be achieved via access through a short-range wirelesscommunication or through wired connection to a device capable ofcommunicating with the second network.

Each service set is associated with identifying data including anidentifier unique to the service set. The identifying data also includesa number of different type metadata items both for the service set andfor the services included in the service set. The identifier and themetadata are preferably transmitted in a table format in the transportstream. The table can be similar to the tables used in DVB-T, such asfor example the bouquet association table (BAT) of the standard ETSI EN300 468 (the '468 standard). The identifier and metadata items arepreferably presented as descriptors like those defined in the '468standard.

One multicast service system may bundle services from one or moreservice operators into one or more service sets. These services maycomprise live content and/or stored content, and can have one of anumber of different media formats. A service typically is an audio orvideo stream, teletext carousel, a set of web links etc. One service caninclude of one or more consecutive programs, similarly to conventionaltelevision and radio programs. A multicast service system may forwardthe bundled service set to one or more multicast operators, which canthen transmit the forwarded service sets as multicasts to receivers inIP (Internet Protocol) datacasting bursts. A user can have subscriptionswith plural multicast operators.

The terminal UE₁ also receives Service Information (SI) includingtime-slicing related information such as, e.g., burst sizes, maximumburst duration, which IP streams are included in particular time-slicechannels, etc. Also the terminal receives in SI information from whereIP based service can be found from network such as, e.g., carrierfrequencies, used Packet IDentifiers (PID), transport_streamidentifiers, etc. Real-time parameters relating to time-slicing arecarried in section headers of the sections within the bursts. Thesereal-time parameters include delta-T parameter, i.e. time when nextburst from current time-slice channel can be assumed to be receivedafter current section, end of the burst marker, etc.

The data items associated with and describing the service set, theservices and the service components include Electronic Service Guide(ESG) data. The ESG data is used to provide a user of a terminal withthe ability to select the channels, services and items he/she isinterested in, and to find items stored on the terminal. An ESG datapresents the service portfolio in a usable way, normally through aservice hierarchy

The terminal UE₁ receives ESG information, which describes the availableservice sets and/or services, their providers, their classificationssuch as ,e.g., genre, or other details such as relating to orderingand/or payment. The ESG information also includes schedules of theavailable services including transmitting times, frequencies, etc. forthe time-sliced bursts. The ESG data can be transmitted as part of thetime-sliced datacast service transmissions 71 or the ESG data can betransmitted using a dedicated control channel 73 (e.g. DVB-T). The ESGdata can also be transmitted in data packets to the terminal UE₁.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example how servicecomponents are transmitted on a channel using time-slicing and presentedto a user in accordance with an embodiment. In FIG. 8, datacast bursts82 used to transmit service components (S1, S2, . . . SN) aretransmitted to the terminal UE₁ over, for example, a DVB-T network. Thedatacast burst is a time-sliced burst that includes one or more datapackets each having a header part and a payload part. One data packet inthe burst may comprise a service or a part thereof. The ESG data isreceived by the controller 10 and stored in a database 80 in theterminal where it can be updated. The schedule for the ESG data may betransmitted as part of the ESG data and stored in the terminal. The ESGdata is preferably in a table format substantially similar to thestandard ETSI EN 300 468 (the '468 standard) using similar descriptors.The table format of the ESG data will be illustrated in more detail inFIGS. 10 and 11.

The received ESG data may be used for turning the terminal on and off inorder to save batteries. The user may select when the terminal is turnedon for receiving the ESG data. The ESG data may not change very oftenand therefore it is not necessary to receive all the ESG transmissions.The terminal may be notified on changes in the ESG data by using asecond network and these notifications may be used for controlling theterminal for the ESG data. From the received time-sliced datacasttransmissions (bursts) the receiver can also extract and storeinformation relating to the transmitted services in a memory location83, which may include data items relating to ESG. The terminal alsostores in a memory location 84 information relating to subscribedservices including the duration and scope of the subscription, etc. Thatinformation may be received through a second network or it may beinputted by the user.

All the received service data is combined and shown to the user in adisplay 20 in a manner chosen by the user. The user may be shown e.g.the name of the service set or service, the transmitting time of theburst containing the said service set or service, the existence of asubscription to said service set or service, the genre or otherclassification of said service set or service, etc. The user can make aselection of services via a user interface such as a keypad 21 or thelike. The user may select only the subscribed service sets or services,free service sets or all available service sets or services.

The service sets or parts thereof or individual services that need to besubscribed may be scrambled or encrypted. The services received by theterminal are stored therein in the scrambled or encrypted form. When theuser orders such services, the data necessary for descrambling or thedecryption keys are delivered to the user as a response to the order orpayment in addition to the schedule information and time-slicingparameters, which are needed for receiving. The user may order theunsubscribed service sets or services, or upgrade a free or alreadysubscribed service set. The data relating to the availability of servicesets or services, which may be ordered or subscribed, may be sent aspart of the data burst or service announcements or via a second network.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram that illustrates an example of thedifferent services offered by a content provider in accordance with anembodiment. In FIG. 9, the service provider 90 includes a combination ofservices or service sets (service 1-service N). If a certain service setis a combination of more than one service, the services may be shown bydifferent designations. For example, one service set could be designatedas “RTL Basic,” 91 wherein the other service set may be designated as“RTL Plus” 93. By way of example, the “Basic” service may contain onlyone service whereas the “Plus” service may include more than oneservice. Additionally, the service set “Plus” and the service set“Basic” may have one or more services in common. Service sets orservices, which the user has not subscribed or which are expired or notpaid for, may be shown using different icons, color, text type etc. sothat the user may make a distinction between them.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are tables that illustrate in more detail an example ofthe services available to a user via a broadcast network in accordancewith an embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, ESG data is preferablymaintained in a table format. Although it is contemplated that otherdata formats may be employed. Using the tables, the services availableto the user can be categorized by the following: genres, subscribed/notsubscribed, paid/not paid, location, free, etc. The user is presentedwith options for sorting the services and aggregates. For example, theoptions for sorting are as follows: show subscribed, show all, or showpackages/bundles. It is contemplated that the “show subscribed” optionwill be selected most often because it will typically represent apersonal set of services. When the “show all” option is selected, thesubscribed services are differentiated visually from the other services.

In tables of FIGS. 11 and 12, it is assumed that the user has selectedthe “subscribed” services. Once a selection is made, a query is made.The query checks all the levels of hierarchy in the ESG data. Thehierarchy includes the following: ESGs, categories, channels, services,and programs. The levels of hierarchy are checked to determined theirstatus. The status is determined by the presence ofsubscription/purchase vouchers. A valid voucher indicates that a servicehas been subscribed to or paid by the user. The subscribed services arethen displayed to the user.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating in more detail an exemplarynetwork for receiving broadcast services in accordance with anembodiment. In FIG. 12, the datacast operator 70 creates bundles, whichcomprise one or more services. The bundles are transmitted via datacastbursts 71 to the users. The bundle data 120 is associated with one ormore of, but preferably all or most of, the following data items: anidentifier unique to the bundle (Bundle_ID), a name describing thebundle (Bundle_name), price information (Price information) for thebundle such as e.g. a price for the whole subscription period, a pricefor the remaining time of the subscription period, information relatingto the subscription time (Subscription time), such as e.g. subscriptionperiod start time, subscription period end time, currency (Currency), apurchase code (Purch_Code), a descriptive label (Label), and anidentifier for each purchase channel (Purch_Ch_1_ID, Purch_Ch_2_ID)through which the bundle can be bought. A bundle may be purchasablethrough one purchase channel, or it may be available through two or moredifferent purchase channels.

Purchase channels describe the channel through which the services orbundles can be bought. The attributes 123 describing a purchase channelinclude: a unique identifier for the channel (Purch_Ch_1_ID,Purch_Ch_2_ID); an identification of the bearer, e.g., Vodafone, Sonera,through which the purchase request is sent (Purch_Ch_1_Bearer_ID); apurchasing address (Purch_Addr), a description of the purchase request(Req_descr); an identification of the bearer (Resp_Bearer_ID) throughwhich the purchase response is sent; a description of the responseformat (Resp_descr), e.g. device capability information (displaycharacteristics); and an identifier unique to the e-commerce operator(Ecomm_ID).

In an embodiment, the datacast operator 70 sends bundle and purchasechannel information in one or more hierarchy files. The same information120 can also be sent to the electronic commerce systems (E-CommerceSystem 1, 2) 127. The electronic commerce systems 127 are accessiblethrough one or more second networks other than the broadcast network. Inone embodiment, the second network is a mobile phone network. The usermay send a request for a bundle with the terminal (UE 1, UE 2) using theselected purchasing channel. The request is sent to the address that isspecified in the attributes 123 of the selected purchase channel andusing the bearer specified therein. The response from the e-commercesystem is received through the bearer specified in the attributes 123 ofthe purchase channel. The purchase response may be sent as a SMS, a MMS,email or as an unconfirmed WAP Push message, any combinations of theseor the like. WAP push e.g. will give the terminal the needed information(maybe invisible to user) and SMS is shown to the user. When, forexample, the rights object is received by the terminal, the access toexecution is possible by selection in the terminal or/and the executablecontent is received by the terminal.

FIG. 13 is schematic diagram illustrating in more detail an exemplarymethod of how service components are transmitted on a channel usingtime-slicing in accordance with an embodiment. In FIG. 13, the servicecomponents (S11, . . . , S1 m; S21, . . . , S2 n), relating to aparticular service, may be transmitted in a burst over a DVB-T network.The first and second bursts 130, 131 have a duration (“duration 1,”“duration 2”), defined by start and end times (“start time 1,” “starttime 2,” “end time 1,” and “end time 2”). The bursts 130, 131 aretransmitted with an interval (“interval 1”) between the end of the firstburst and the start of the second burst. In this example, each burstcommences with ESG data (ESG 1, ESG 2).

The content of consecutive bursts 130, 131 may be the same, or they maybe at least partly different. Instead of a burst containing all servicecomponents for a set and containing service components relating only tothat set, one burst may comprise any number of the service components ofa service, or it may contain service components from one or moreservices or service sets. The order in which the service components arein the burst is determined by the multicast service system or by themulticast operator.

The ESG data or parts thereof may also be transmitted through aseparate, second network, which can be unidirectional or bi-directionaland may be wired or wireless. The second network would normally be amobile phone network, such as GSM, GPRS, 3 G or UMTS, but might be aWLAN or any other communications network. The ESG data transmitted viathe second network may be used by a terminal receiving the ESG.

If transmitted over DVB-T, the ESG data may be transmitted on an IPControl Channel (IP-CC). The ESG data includes metadata about theservices, such as what types of services are available, how the servicecontent can be received and how it can be consumed. That metadata issent as a set of announcement files using IP-based protocols. The ESGdata may be transmitted repeatedly, e.g., carousel-style.

In one embodiment, the available services are configured hierarchically,as illustrated in FIGS. 14 a and 14B. FIG. 14A shows one example of thehierarchical structure of the services and FIG. 14B shows an example ofa partial content of one service.

In one embodiment, at the highest level, the hierarchical structurecontains categories. Services are classified with categories. There canbe many levels of categories. The categories classify the service sets.Categories can include channels, for example, relating to a certaintopic or content type. A channel might be one set of services that theuser can identify with one name or brand, for example CNN (RTM) or BBC(RTM). Below a category in the hierarchy there can be subcategories orservice sets. Service sets combine the same kind of services together,although they can instead relate to an identifiable entity, for exampleCNN (RTM), or BBC (RTM). A service set is owned by a Service Provider(SP) or a Content Provider (CP). One CP or SP can have many servicesets. Service sets combine the same kind of services of one CP or SPtogether. One service can belong to many different service sets but allthe services of one service set are preferably owned by the same SP orCP. A bundle is a sellable entity, i.e. a group of services that aresold together by an SP.

In FIG. 14A, a service category “News” is shown with a service set “CNNNews Watch” and below that a service “Live Update.” The service“News.CNNNewsWatch.LiveUpdate” may include one or more service sessions,for example a program about the latest business news, as shown in FIG.14B. The service sessions include items, which can be for instance newsrelated to different parts of the world. If the items also are scheduledand the schedules are shown to the user, the user can watch the newsonly when a part or parts of interest is being transmitted.

The hierarchy of the available services is quite static. Services andservice sets can change, but changes are infrequent and no end time forthe service is usually announced to the user. The ESG data containsmetadata describing the level in question (i.e. whether it is acategory, service set or service) and links to more detailedinformation. A service set can have a default service, i.e. a servicewhich is opened as the service set is entered, and identified by themetadata. A service set may also be associated in the user interfacewith a button or menu behind which there is a list of included services.

Each entity has an identifier. That identifier always is unique in thescope of the identifiers (of those entities) of the multicast operator.For example, a service identifier is unique in the scope of the serviceidentifiers of the multicast operator, and a category identifier isunique among the multicast operator's category identifiers etc. In oneembodiment, all identifiers are numeric. The more dynamic part of ESGinformation is the program part. The program part includes servicesessions, which are instances of services and which have a start timeand a stop time. Service sessions comprise service items or servicecomponents. Service items are “pieces” of content that can beindividually consumed. All the service items of the service session aretransmitted using the same kind of transmission parameters. As withservice sessions, service items can have their own start time and stoptime inside the service session.

That hierarchical structure makes it possible to present a serviceportfolio in a logical and associative format and allows for easy ESGpresentation and retrieval. That makes it easier for a user to find theservices that they are interested in, and also makes it easier for theoperator to schedule the sessions so that the service sessions that aredeemed to be likely to interest the same people overlap as little aspossible. The information included in the hierarchy files includesinformation relating to purchase channels, bundles, categories, servicesets, services, and other similar information. In addition to thehierarchical categorization, the services may be associated with otherclassification and/or identification data such as the genre of theservice.

Purchase channels describe the channel through which the services orbundles can be bought. The attributes describing a purchase channelinclude a unique identifier for the channel, an identification of thebearer through which the purchase request is sent, a purchasing address,a description of the purchase request, an identification of the bearerthrough which the purchase response is sent, a description of theresponse format and an identifier unique to the e-commerce operator.

Services can be bought in bundles. Thus, bundles are the sellable items.These bundles are associated with one or more of, but preferably all ormost of, the following data items: an identifier unique to the bundle, aname describing the bundle, price information for the bundle such as,for example, a price for the whole subscription period, a price for theremaining time of the subscription period, subscription period starttime, subscription period end time, currency, a purchase code, adescriptive label, and an identifier for each purchase channel throughwhich the bundle can be bought. The descriptive label can be shown tothe user to explain the use of the purchase item, and may take the form“3 months purchase,” “purchase to the end of the current month,” etc. Apurchase code is used in an e-commerce system to identify the purchasedbundle. In one embodiment, for every bundle and period combination whichcan be purchased, there is a purchase code. In another embodiment, thereis a code for each bundle and a code for each period, allowing eachbundle/period combination to be identified by a purchase code includinga combination of the two codes. A bundle may be purchasable through onepurchase channel, or it may be available through two or more differentpurchase channels. In yet another embodiment, programs, channels andsessions can be purchased individually in addition to bundles. In thatcase, a code needs to be provided for each of the items which isindividually sellable. However, there does not necessarily need to be anend time or duration, since the items tend to have a natural end time,so the purchase codes can be simpler.

To form the category information, one or more of (preferably all or mostof) the following data items is given: a name for the category, a uniqueidentifier for the category (which in one embodiment is numeric) a shortdescription for the category, a display order in which the networkoperator requires the alternatives of the category level to be shown, anindication of a parental rating, and a parent category identifier. Thedata item list above is meant to be exemplary. It is also contemplatedthat other data items can be used in addition or as replacements.

For the service set information, one or more of (preferably all or mostof) the following data is given: a name for the service set, a uniqueidentifier for the service set (which in one embodiment is numeric) ashort description for the service set, a display order in which theoperator requires the service sets of the category to be shown, anindication of a parental rating, a reference to main pages of theservice sets, information about the services of the service set,identification data for the services that belong to the service set, adisplay order of the service in a service set (in which order theservices are shown to the user), a default service identification, andother operator specific attributes such as, for example, author,creation date. The value of the attributes can be a string, an integer,a date, a URL or any combination of all or some of these, for examplethe combination of an integer and a string value. The attributes maycomprise one or more of a name, a description and a unique identifierfor the attribute. The service set information may also include anidentifier for each bundle that the service belongs to. Again, the listabove is exemplary, other data items can be used in addition or asreplacements.

For each of the services one or more of (preferably all or most of) thefollowing data is given: a name of the service, a unique identifier forthe service, an indication of a genre of the service, a shortdescription for the service, a URL where a detailed description can befound, a list of the identifiers of the bundles that the service belongsto, an indication of a parental rating of the service, a URL for therating of the service, an indication of the type of the service, andother operator specific attributes such as for example the author and/orthe creation date. The value of the attributes can be a characterstring, an integer, a date, a URL or any combination of some or all ofthese. The attributes may comprise one or more of the following: a name,a description and a unique identifier for the attribute. The genre ofthe service may be indicated by using the same or similar alternativesas in the '468 standard v 1.4.1. The indication of the type of theservice allows the terminal to differentiate between different services,for example DVB multicast services, online services and 3 G multicastservices.

The data related to a session item includes a session starting time, anend time or alternatively a duration of the session. The ESG data mayadditionally include carousel information, such as the type of thecarousel, the IP addresses and ports of other carousels, expirationtimes and update intervals of the carousel information, a modificationtime of the hierarchy data, and references to the operator main page.The modification time is the time when the hierarchy was last modified.The operator main page is the page that the user can see first whenopening the ESG. The operator main page may include the ten most popularIPDC services, a list of the newest services, a list of recommendations,etc. The main page may be available for display to the user very quicklyafter opening the ESG. The main page is sent in a main page carousel.The ESG data may also include a unique identifier for the ESG, andinformation concerning the languages of the ESG. Each supported languagecan have a separate ESG data file. Also announced is expiration timeinformation, which indicates a time before which the announcedinformation will not normally change. The expiration time can beannounced for hierarchy, session and main page carousels. For sessionand main page carousels, the update interval (in seconds) may be given,allowing the times for the next updates to be calculated withoutchecking the hierarchy file.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components for a mobile terminal in accordance with anembodiment. In FIG. 15, a mobile terminal 100, only partly shown, isimplemented as a DVB-T client having a DVB-T or DVB-H receiver (notshown). The mobile terminal 100 includes generally a memory 101 which isconnected to a service data handler 102 and to a user interface 103. Theuser interface 103 includes a display 104 and a browsing selector 105,for example a keypad or a touch-screen input device, and a displaycontroller 118. The data handler 102 is formed from a service setcombiner application 106 and an ESG handling application 107. The memory101 is configured to store N service components, three of which areillustrated at 108-110, along with the service identification data111-113 corresponding thereto. The memory 101 also stores ESG data in anESG data storage area 114. The memory 101 also includes a subscriptiondatabase area 116 for the storage of subscription data, and a paymentdata area 117 in which payment data is stored. The terminal 100 is shownbroken-down only for convenience. A practical implementation of theabove-described components would normally utilize a ROM memory, providedwith suitable software, a RAM memory, a single microprocessor and adisplay with a display driver. The receiver (not shown) has an airinterface with the DVB-T network. The terminal 100 gets information Rfrom the DVB-T network as IP datacasting bursts through the receiver.

The mobile terminal 100 receives and stores the IP datacasting burstincluding ESG data and the service components and the associated data ina memory. On the basis of the ESG data and the associated data items,the terminal 100 is able to associate the service components with theappropriate service sets. The user of the terminal 100 may, through theuser interface 103, browse and select the received content for viewingor rendering. The data items describing the various service componentscan be used for setting up a hierarchy for categorizing the receivedcontent items. Further, the data in the service set schedule may be usedfor arranging the services in order according to their timing (now,next, today, next week, etc.). How the services are configured maydepend on a setting or a user input, for example.

The mobile terminal 100 can extract from the received ESG data and thereceived service set schedule information. Additionally the terminal 100can extract from the received Service Information (SI) and ProgramSpecific Information (PSI) table information concerning the schedulesand the carrier transmission frequency or frequencies of the servicesets or service components. Following selection of a service set orservice component, the terminal 100 is able to tune to the correctfrequency when the desired or selected service set or service componentis being transmitted. As described below, the different service sets areshown displayed in the user interface 103 of the terminal 100. The userinterface 103 also includes browsing and selecting means 105.

In order to make sure that the user does not have outdated information,the information must be updated periodically. Each announcement containsan expiration time, which is an absolute time indicating when the nextversion is due. The new version is not necessarily different from theold version, but it is guaranteed that there will not be any changesduring the validity of one version. The update interval is different forthe other parts of the ESG because the probability of a change isdifferent. The terminal 100 need only receive announcements when thecurrently stored announcement is just about to or has just expired.

In case of a hierarchy file update, for example, the terminal 100receives the hierarchy file, then determines if the modification time ofthe hierarchy is later than the modification time of the hierarchy inits ESG database 114. If the received hierarchy is newer, it is updatedto the ESG database 114. Otherwise the terminal 100 just notes the nextexpiration time. The terminal 100 can be informed of unexpected updatesthrough an alert service that the ESG information should be updated.That can occur in any suitable way, for example using a notificationscarousel. The terminal 100 is controllable through the user interface103 to maintain up-to-date ESG data, or alternatively not to receive orupdate ESG data, so as to preserve battery charge should DVB-T servicesbe not sufficiently important to the user at a given time.

The terminal 100 operates to store received service components and thecorresponding service identification data, as well as the received ESGdata, in the appropriate parts of the memory 101. The ESG data may bereceived over the DVB-T network, or through a mobile telephone network,as illustrated at 115. A terminal may receive only part of an ESG orschedules for an ESG, or it may receive the entire ESG, which describesall the available services and their schedules.

When the terminal 100 is turned on for the first time, the terminal doesnot have any ESG information. To be able to show the ESG information tothe user, the terminal 100 must perform ESG discovery to receive the ESGdata. The information reception can be divided into five phases whichare, in summary: getting the IP address for the hierarchy file,receiving the hierarchy file, receiving the main pages, receiving theservice session descriptions, and lastly retrieving the detailedinformation. That is illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the terminal inFIG. 15 performs ESG discovery in accordance with an embodiment. At stepS1, the terminal 100 must first find out the IP address for thehierarchy information. There are a number of addresses that are reservedjust for the ESG information, preferably one address for each networkarea. The identity of the IP address for the hierarchy information fileof the current cell may be obtained from the network. The mechanism forthat depends on the network.

In a DVB-T network, the correct IP address for the hierarchy informationfile is, in one embodiment, received through the following informationflow. Firstly, the receiver included in the terminal 100 scans throughthe available frequencies until the desired DVB-T network is found. Thedesired network can be the first network found, a user defined network,a network configured to the terminal, etc. Next, the receiver receivesthe Network Information Table (NIT). In that context, the receiver alsolocates the IP/MAC Notification Table (INT). That is done byinterpreting all linkage descriptors of type 0×0B in the NIT table. OneDVB-T link may carry several IP platforms, which can be thought of aschannels. The terminal 100 inquires of the receiver which IP platformsare available, and the receiver sends the information parsed from theNIT table to the terminal. Next, the terminal 100 selects an IP platformand identifies the selected IP platform to the receiver. The receiverthen receives the INT table and parses it. To get the IP address for thehierarchy file, the terminal 100 inquires of the receiver if it has amapping for an address belonging to the ESG IP address range. Thereceiver then returns the IP address. It will be appreciated by theskilled person how the IP address can be obtained for other networktypes. When the terminal 100 has determined the correct IP address, itopens the address and starts to listen.

At step S2, the terminal receives a file containing hierarchyinformation and saves it to the database. The hierarchy file may bewritten in XML, for example. The terminal 100 may obtain from thehierarchy file among other things the IP addresses for the othercarousels. That allows the terminal to move to listen to the IP addressof the session announcements or the address of the main pages, which itdoes at step S3. The main pages are saved to the terminal 100 such thatthey can be shown to the user when needed. The service sessioninformation is described using, for example, SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol) and XML files forming part of the hierarchy information. TheSDP files contain the information that the terminal needs to be able toreceive and consume the sessions, which occurs at step S4. The XML fileis used for describing the content of sessions for the user. When theterminal 100 receives the session SDP files and the XML file, it parsesthem and saves the information to the database.

If after receiving the hierarchy and session announcements, moreinformation about the services, service sessions or items is required,that can be fetched for example via a web portal. The URLs identifyingthese web portals are given in the announcements. The payment datastorage area 117 includes data which can allow the user of the terminal100 to subscribe to services or bundles without requiring the user toenter any information into the terminal though the user interface 103 atthe time that subscription is required. The payment information can bethe serial number and expiration date information of the user's creditcard. Alternatively, the payment data can be a voucher, token or keythat, when sent, authorizes a pre-paid account to be debited orauthorizes the addition of charges to an account, such as the user'saccount with a mobile telephone network operator. The payment data mayinstead be the full legal name and address of the user, allowing theuser to be invoiced by a service provider. The payment data may includethe user's telephone number or e-mail address, for delivery of a voucheror receipt or other confirmation of a subscription purchase. The onlyrequirement of the payment data is that it allows the user to pay for,or unequivocally enter into an agreement to pay for, services orbundles. It is preferred that the payment data is secured so that itcannot be accessed through the user interface 103 without the use of apassword or passnumber, in case the terminal 100 is lost or stolen.

The subscription data storage area 116 includes data relating to all ofthe subscriptions that the user holds or has held (i.e. includingexpired subscriptions). The data relates also to services and bundlesfor which access does not require subscription. Such services can beconsidered as having a payment-free subscription. In that case, thesubscription data identifies the bundles which have a payment-freesubscription. For subscriptions which are not payment-free, thesubscription data includes an identifier of the subscription provider,identifies any restrictions on the subscription, including theexpiration time of the subscription, and includes any descrambling ordecryption key or code which is required to access the services. Aseparate key or code may be required for individual services or forgroups of services within the bundle, or it may apply to every servicein the bundle, and the subscription data includes information whichidentifies the particular situation. Of course, the subscription dataalso identifies the bundles to which the user is or has been subscribedand can, for each bundle, identify which services form part of thatbundle. Any bundle which forms part of a basic package, for example onethat comes free with a user's mobile telephone or television contract,is included in that category. In that case, the expiration time of thesubscription may be amended on a rolling basis, as the user pays monthlycontract fees for example.

The subscription data also includes time-slicing parameters, whereappropriate. The time-slicing parameters include at least the start timeof the transmission of the service, and may also include the duration(or alternatively the end time) and/or the repetition interval of the IPbursts carrying the service. The repetition interval may be definedrelative to the start or the end time of one IP burst and relative tothe start or the end time of a successive IP burst. The time-slicingparameters may be additional to schedule information, which describesthe time and day, for example, at which the services are scheduled to bebroadcast. The schedule information applies only to services which arenot substantially continuous. A twenty-four hour news channel can beconsidered a substantially continuous service, but a service relating totennis Open Championships would have more ad-hoc transmissions.

The subscription data may be provided by a user, through the userinterface 103. It is preferred though that the subscription data isreceived subsequent to the purchase of a subscription, for example overthe mobile telephone network 115. That is particularly convenient whenthe subscription data includes detailed information, such astime-slicing parameters, keys or codes and schedules. The subscriptiondata may then form part of or be received along with a voucher orreceipt, which may or may not have a serial number, specific to thesubscription purchase. Operation of the user interface 103 will now bedescribed in more detail. Before presenting services, the hierarchy datais used to categorize different content types. Next, the data is sortedin an appropriate manner. The service set combiner application 106 usesthe data to form service sets including only the services which areintended to form part of the respective service sets. The service setcombiner 106 and the ESG application 107 together serve to construct anESG from the ESG data. The display controller 118 takes datarepresenting the ESG from the ESG application 107, for use in providingthe ESG in a suitable format on the display 104. Since the datarepresenting the ESG relates primarily to the structure of the ESGcomponents, additional ESG data can be accessed by the displaycontroller 118 by virtue of a direct connection to the ESG data area114. The display controller 118 also takes data from the subscriptiondata area 1 16 of the memory 101, and uses that subscription data whenpresenting the available services and bundles on the display 104.

The terminal 100 preferably is configured to allow a user to select aservice accessibility display setting. If a service accessibilitysetting “show all” is selected by a user, then each time that the ESG isshown on the display 104, all of the available services are displayed.However, services for which the user has a valid subscription (which maybe termed subscribed services) are presented differently to services forwhich the user does not have a subscription (which may be termednot-subscribed services). The different services may be displayed with adifferent color foreground, or a different color background. They may bedisplayed with different fonts. Subscribed services may be displayed inbold text, and non-subscribed services shown in standard text.Alternatively, subscribed services could be displayed with normal text,and non-subscribed services displayed with faint text, or greyed-outtext. Services of different accessibility could otherwise bedistinguished by the use of different buttons or alternatively differenticons. For example, subscribed services could have displayed with them“select” buttons, whereas non-subscribed services could have “subscribe”buttons instead. Another option is to have a column (for examplealongside “title” and “description” columns) which states with textwhether or not the services are subscribed services.

If a service accessibility setting “show subscribed” is selected by auser, then each time that the ESG is shown on the display 104, only thesubscribed services are presented on the display. Non-subscribedservices are removed from the list of services in the ESG by the displaycontroller 118. In that way, the user of the terminal 100 knows that allof the services that are displayed are accessible without requiring anysubscription purchase. If a “show paid” service accessibility setting isselected, then only services that are accessible and which form part ofa paid-for subscription are displayed. Services which do not require apaid subscription or which require a subscription which has not beenpurchased or which has expired are not presented on the display 104.

As an alternative to the service accessibility display settings, a usermay be required to select an from the “show all,” “show subscribed” and“show paid” options before the ESG is displayed for browsing. However,following the selection of one of the options, the resulting ESG is thesame as that described above. Where it is required to display ESG dataat a level different to the service level, for example at the channel orservice set level, an item in the ESG is treated by the terminal 100 asthough it were a subscribed service if at least one service below it inthe hierarchy is a subscribed service, or as a non-subscribed service.

Subject to the service accessibility setting or input, the ESG dataprovided by the ESG application 107 initially is used by the displaycontroller 118 to display the different service sets in the display 104.Alternatively, dependent on a setting or user input, the initial ESGdisplay could list all the available bundles, allowing navigationthrough the bundled service packages. A further alternative might be todisplay schedules (configured by time of transmission), or the resultsof a search of the ESG, or channel guides or program guides etc. The ESGcan be navigated using the browsing selector 105. An item or entity canbe selected using a stylus, an “OK” key when highlighted, or using avoice command, for example, through the user interface 103.

If a selected item is not consumable, which will be the case withchannels and service sets, for example, then that is taken to mean thatthe ESG data relating to that item and immediately below it in thehierarchy is required to be displayed. The user interface 103 alsoincludes a “back” option (similar to those found in internet browsers),so that the user can navigate upwards in the ESG hierarchy if required.If the selected item is consumable, for example because it is a programor it is a service with only one active program in it, the service isconsumed. Consumption may involve newly received data and/or datarelating to the selected service which is pre-stored in the memory.Consumption may involve the use of the descrambling or decrypting key orcode stored in the subscription data area 1 16, if the service isscrambled or encrypted. Of course, the items that are displayed aredependent on the service accessibility setting or input and on thecontents of the subscription data stored in the subscription data area116. The information about the services or programs that is presented onthe display 104 can include the title, a description of the service orprogram, the start time, the program type (e.g. audio, audio-visual,game etc), the genre or other classification, etc. The start time may beobtained from the ESG data area 114 or from the subscription data area116.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the terminal inFIG. 15 provides browsable ESG implemented via a user interface inaccordance with an embodiment. At step S6, an ESG is required to bedisplayed on the display 104. Here, the display controller 118 requestsESG hierarchy information from the ESG application 107, which itreceives at step S7. The terminal 100 then determines whether or not aservice accessibility setting is present at step S8. If the setting ispresent, it is retrieved at step S9. Otherwise, the terminal requests aservice accessibility input, which is received at step S10. Followingsteps S9 and S10 the display controller 118 gets the ESG information,which is relevant to the level of the ESG that is to be displayed, andputs it in a list at step S11. What is included in the list generated atstep S11 depends on the settings, and might be, for example, bundles,service sets or any other suitable data.

At step S12, the list is modified according to the subscription datastored in the subscription data area 116 and according to the serviceaccessibility setting or input. That step involves determining which ofthe items in the list are subscription items, or contains subscriptionitems, as the case may be, and omitting non-subscription items orhighlighting subscription items depending on the service accessibilitysetting or input. The items for which the subscription is expired can beshown as non-subscription items or in a way different from subscriptionand non-subscription items. In that way, the user can be informed on theexpiration of earlier subscribed items so that the user can renew thesubscription if necessary. The modified list is then displayed at S13 asESG data. Following a user selection of one of the listed items at stepS14, it is determined whether or not the selected item is consumable atstep S15. If the item is consumable, it is consumed at step S16.Otherwise, it is determined that another page of ESG is required to bedisplayed, and the operation proceeds again to step S11. Steps S11 toS15 are then repeated in respect of the new level of ESG data. When anon-subscribed service or program is selected by a user through the userinterface 103, the terminal 100 allows the user to subscribe, as willnow be described with reference to FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how the mobileterminal in FIG. 15 operates when a non-subscribed service is selectedby a user in accordance with an embodiment. Here, the procedure beginsat step S17 when a non-subscribed program or service is selected. Atstep S18, the terminal 100 uses the ESG data stored in the ESG data area114, or alternatively the subscription data stored in the subscriptiondata area 116, to determine which bundles include the selected programor service. These bundles at then displayed at step S19. The bundles maybe displayed with information which may be of benefit to the user, forexample, the duration of the subscription and the price of thesubscription, as well as details of any services which are included inthat bundle. A bundle is selected by a user input at step S20. Theterminal 100 then determines from the ESG data which purchase channelthe bundle may be purchased. At step S21, the terminal 100 then sendspayment data from the payment data area 117 using that payment channel,in order to effect purchase of the bundle. Assuming the purchase isallowed by the service provider, the terminal 100 at step S22 thenreceives a voucher or receipt for the subscription purchase along withsubscription data relating thereto. The voucher and subscription dataare then stored in the terminal at step S23, following which the programor service is consumed at step S24.

It is contemplated that the terminal 100 thus allows “one-click”subscription to a service or bundle of services. The subscription isfacilitated by the inclusion in the payment data area 117 of all thedata needed for a subscription purchase. The consumption of the serviceor program also is facilitated by the automatic storing in thesubscription data area 116 of data relating to the subscription,including any de-scrambling or decryption key or code required toreceive the service or program.

The step of finding the bundles which includes the non-subscribedprogram or service at step S18 may also involve interrogation of thesubscription data stored in the subscription data area 116. Inparticular, it may be that the user of the terminal 100 is subscribed toa basic package which can be upgraded to a package that includes anon-subscribed program or service. Effecting upgrade in that way may bemore cost effective than purchasing another bundle which includes thenon-subscribed program or service.

The operation of FIG. 18 assumes that the data relating services tobundles is included in the ESG data. In another embodiment, theinformation relating to services bundles is provided using a mobiletelephone network, for example. In that case, the terminal 100 may,following the step S17, send a request to the service provider using themobile telephone network 115 for details of bundles, which includes thenon-subscribed program or service. The requested information may bereceived in any suitable way, for example, by SMS or by email. If theterminal 100 does not have a direct connection to the mobile telephonenetwork 115, connection may be made instead using a short-range wirelessconnection, for example a Bluetooth™ or IRDA connection, or through awired connection to a external device which is capable of communicatingthrough a mobile telephone network. All of that can be done withoutacquiring any additional user input, so its appears seamless to theuser.

When the subscription data stored in the subscription data area 116includes time-slicing parameters, the terminal 100 may use theseparameters to switch on the DVB-T receiver at a time appropriate tobegin receiving the service or program. That allows the DVB-T receiveronly to be switched on when it is required to receive data, and remainswitched off at other times. That is considered an advantageous becauseit can preserve battery charge.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not in limitation. Accordingly, it will be apparent topersons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form anddetail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present inventionshould not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

1. A terminal for receiving broadcast services, the terminal comprising:a controller configured to use data forming the whole of or part of anelectronic service guide and locally stored information concerning theaccessibility of services to generate a list of selectable services; anda user interface configured to present at least part of the list in aselectable manner.
 2. A terminal as in claim 1, wherein the controlleris operable to generate a list of individual selectable services.
 3. Aterminal as in claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to generate alist of selectable bundles, each bundle comprising two or more services.4. A terminal as in claim 1 wherein the user interface is controllablein response to a setting or input to present the services along withcorresponding accessibility information.
 5. A terminal as in claim 1,wherein the controller is operable on the basis of a setting or a userinput to generate a list only of services which are currentlyaccessible.
 6. A terminal as in claim 1, wherein the controller isoperable on the basis of a setting or a user input to present serviceswhich are currently accessible differently to those which are notcurrently accessible.
 7. A terminal as in claim 1, wherein thecontroller is responsive to a user input selecting a currentlyinaccessible service to commence a service purchase procedure.
 8. Aterminal as in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured todetermine which service bundles include the selected inaccessibleservice, and the user interface is configured to present these servicebundles in a selectable manner.
 9. A terminal as in claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to implement the service purchase procedure bysending payment data pre-existing locally in the terminal via acommunications link.
 10. A terminal as in claim 1, further comprising areceiver operable to receive service purchase information over abidirectional communications link.
 11. A terminal as in claim 10,wherein the received service purchase information includes one or moretime-slicing parameters.
 12. A terminal as in claim 10, wherein thereceived service purchase information includes data required to accessthe respective service or services.
 13. A terminal as in claim 10,wherein the received service purchase information includes one or moredecryption keys.
 14. A terminal as in claim 10, wherein the terminal isconfigured to update the locally stored information concerning theaccessibility of services with the received service purchaseinformation, or at least part of the received information.
 15. A mobileterminal configured to receive broadcast data identifying one or moreservice packages, and, in respect to each package, data describing achannel through which access to the service package is obtained, themobile terminal being operable to send a service package request via thedescribed channel.
 16. A mobile terminal as in claim 15, wherein themobile terminal is configured to select between two or more differentchannels through which access to the service package is obtained, andoperable to send a service package request via the selected channel. 17.A mobile terminal as in claim 15, wherein the mobile terminal is arrangeto selected between two or more different channels on the basis ofreceived broadcast data for each channel indicating the bearer throughwhich a service package request is sent for that channel.
 18. A mobileterminal as in claim 15, wherein the broadcast channel description dataincludes an address to which service package requests are required to besent, and the terminal is operable to send the service package requestto that address.
 19. A mobile terminal as in claim 15, wherein thebroadcast data comprises data uniquely identifying the service package,and the terminal is operable to include that data in the service packagerequest.
 20. A mobile terminal as in claim 15, wherein the channeldescription data comprises data indicating the content and/or formrequired for a package access request, and the terminal is operable touse that data to prepare the service request package.
 21. A systemconfigured to broadcast data identifying one or more service packages,and, in respect of each package, data describing a channel through whichaccess to the service packages is obtained.
 22. A system as in claim 21,wherein one or more, or all, or the service packages include a bundle ofservices.
 23. A system as in claim 21, further comprising data that isbroadcast with respect to each service package which identifies two ormore different channels through which access to a service package isobtained.
 24. A system as in claim 21, wherein the channel descriptioncomprises an address to which service package requests are required tobe sent.
 25. A system as in claim 21, wherein the broadcast dataincludes an indication of the bearer through which a service packagerequest is sent.
 26. A system as in claim 21, wherein in the channeldescription data comprises data uniquely identifying a service package.27. A system as in claim 21, wherein the channel description datacomprises data indicating one or more subscription durations.
 28. Asystem as in claim 21, wherein the channel description data comprisesdata indicating the content and/or the form required for a packageaccess request.
 29. A system as in claim 21, further comprising a mobileterminal configured to receive the broadcast data.
 30. A user interfacefor presenting broadcast services, the user interface comprising: a listgenerator configured to use data forming the whole of or part of anelectronic service guide and information concerning the accessibility ofservices to generate a list of selectable services; and means configuredto present at least part of the list in a selectable manner.
 31. A userinterface as in claim 30, wherein the user interface is operable on thebasis of a setting or input to present the services along withcorresponding accessibility information.
 32. A user interface as inclaim 30, wherein the user interface is operable on the basis of asetting or a user input to generate a list only of services which arecurrently accessible.
 33. A user interface as claim 30, wherein the userinterface is operable on the basis of a setting or a user input topresent services which are currently accessible differently to thosewhich are not currently accessible.
 34. A user interface as claim 30,wherein the user interface is responsive to a user input selecting acurrently inaccessible service to commence a service purchase procedure.35. A user interface as in claim 30, wherein the user interface isconfigured to determine which service bundles include the selectedinaccessible service, and to present these service bundles in aselectable manner.
 36. A method of operating a broadcast system, themethod comprising: broadcasting data identifying one or more servicepackages, and, in respect to each package, data describing a channelthrough which access to the service packages is obtained.
 37. A methodof operating a mobile terminal, the method comprising: receivingbroadcast data identifying one or more service packages, and, in respectto each package, data describing a channel through which access to theservice package is obtained; and sending a service package request viathe described channel.
 38. A method as in claim 37, further comprisingselecting between two or more different channels through which access tothe service package can be obtained, and sending the service packagerequest via the selected channel.
 39. A method as in claim 38, whereinthe selecting step further comprises using received broadcast data foreach channel indicating of the bearer through which a service packagerequest is sent for that channel.
 40. A method as in claim 37, whereinthe channel description data includes an address to which servicepackage requests are required to be sent, and the terminal is operableto send the service package request to that address.
 41. A method as inclaim 37, wherein the broadcast data comprises data uniquely identifyingthe service package, the method comprising including that data in theservice package.
 42. A method as in claim 37, wherein the channeldescription data comprises data indicating the content and/or formrequired for a package access request to take, and the terminal isoperable to use that data to prepare the service package request.
 43. Amethod of operating a terminal for receiving broadcast services, themethod comprising: receiving data forming the whole of or part of anelectronic service guide; locally maintaining information concerning theaccessibility of services; generating a list of selectable servicesusing the electronic service guide data and the accessibility data; andpresenting at least part of the list in a selectable manner.
 44. Amethod for selecting a service from a plurality of available services,the method comprising: receiving a first schedule for an electronicservice guide, wherein the first schedule comprises data on thetransmitting channel and data on the transmitting times of theelectronic service guide; storing the received first schedule in a firstdata base in a terminal; receiving an electronic service guidecomprising data on the available services, wherein the data on theavailable services comprises identification of at least one of saidavailable services, classification data on at least one of saidavailable services, and second schedule data comprising transmittingtimes of the available services; storing the electronic service guide ina second data base; selecting at least one service data item on one ormore services to be displayed on a display of the terminal; selecting atleast one service among the displayed services; ordering the selectedservice; receiving a response to the order, the response comprising dataon one or more time-slicing parameters relating to the selected service.45. The method as in claim 44, wherein the first schedule data relatesto time-sliced transmission of bursts comprising one or more datapackets including electronic service guide data.
 46. A method as inclaim 44, wherein the second schedule data relates to time-slicedtransmission of bursts comprising one or more data packets includingservice data.
 47. A computer program product for operating a mobileterminal that includes a memory for storing a computer-readable medium,the computer-readable medium containing program code that is executableby at least one processor for performing instructions, the instructionscomprising: receiving broadcast data identifying one or more servicepackages, and, in respect to each package, data describing a channelthrough which access to the service package is obtained; and sending aservice package request via the described channel.
 48. A computerprogram product as in claim 47, further comprising an instruction forselecting between two or more different channels through which access tothe service package can be obtained, and sending the service packagerequest via the selected channel.
 49. A computer program product as inclaim 48 wherein the selecting instruction further comprises usingreceived broadcast data for each channel indicating of the bearerthrough which a service package request is sent for that channel.
 50. Acomputer program product as in claim 47, wherein the channel descriptiondata includes an address to which service package requests are requiredto be sent, and the terminal is operable to send the service packagerequest to that address.
 51. A computer program product of operating aterminal for receiving broadcast services that includes a memory forstoring a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable mediumcontaining program code that is executable by at least one processor forperforming instructions, the instructions comprising: receiving dataforming the whole of or part of an electronic service guide; maintaininglocally information concerning the accessibility of services; generatinga list of selectable services using the electronic service guide dataand the accessibility data; and presenting at least part of the list ina selectable manner.
 52. A computer program product for selecting aservice from a plurality of available services that includes a memoryfor storing a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable mediumcontaining program code that is executable by at least one processor forperforming instructions, the instructions comprising: receiving a firstschedule for an electronic service guide, wherein the first schedulecomprises data on the transmitting channel and data on the transmittingtimes of the electronic service guide; storing the received firstschedule in a first data base in a terminal; receiving an electronicservice guide comprising data on the available services, wherein thedata on the available services comprises identification of at least oneof said available services, classification data on at least one of saidavailable services, and second schedule data comprising transmittingtimes of the available services; storing the electronic service guide ina second data base; selecting at least one service data item on one ormore services to be displayed on a display of the terminal; selecting atleast one service among the displayed services; ordering the selectedservice; receiving a response to the order, the response comprising dataon one or more time-slicing parameters relating to the selected service.53. A computer program product as in claim 52, wherein the firstschedule data relates to time-sliced transmission of bursts comprisingone or more data packets including electronic service guide data.
 54. Acomputer program product as in claim 52, wherein the second scheduledata relates to time-sliced transmission of bursts comprising one ormore data packets including service data.